Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why) . . .

[B S Magnet]

I use "testify" Bart Simpson style.

“Testify!” has a looooong history going way back, notably in AAVE and in the pulpit of Black churches in the U.S. South, particularly so during powerful, participatory sermons.

Coincidentally, that Simpsons episode, “Faith Off”, aired just a few months after Rage Against the Machine released their 1999 album, The Battle of Los Angeles, featuring Zach de la Rocha screaming “TESTIFY!” in the eponymous song (later released as a standalone single). Which I guess means, in the pop culture era of… our lifetimes, this one will always remind me of Zach doing Zach as only Zach can do.

 

[Mousse]

The same cheapening is being done with other words as well. It also goes the other way, with words like "love." Do you really "love" that ice cream? Don't you mean you just really like it?

I love ice cream. According to ancient greeks, and some modern day psychologist, there are 8 types of love. My love for ice cream is Ludus love: no strings attached, no commitment love. I learned a lot of psychology stuff in college as I was popular with the female psychology majors🤗...as a test subject.😧😑😢

 

[usagora]

I love ice cream. According to ancient greeks, and some modern day psychologist, there are 8 types of love.

Except the ancient Greeks had different words for those types of love. In English, we usually use the same word for all of them, which cheapens/dilutes the word.

 

[Kung]

In that vein, I've noticed for a long time that the new meaning of the word "hate" is, "when someone disagrees with personal choices you've made or positions/opinions you hold."

Person 1: "I love the new Batman movie!"
Person 2: "It was probably my least favorite one."
Person 1: "Hater!"

The same cheapening is being done with other words as well. It also goes the other way, with words like "love." Do you really "love" that ice cream? Don't you mean you just really like it?

Oh yeah, I saw this in action the other day.

Someone: *states their position on random topic, political or not*
Someone else: "So you're saying you hate [insert random people group here]"

🤦‍♂️

 

[Kung]

Except the ancient Greeks had different words for those types of love. In English, we usually use the same word for all of them, which cheapens/dilutes the word.

I have all of the Greek types of love for ice cream.

Except for maybe eros. lol

 

[VisceralRealist]

Oh yeah, I saw this in action the other day.

Someone: *states their position on random topic, political or not*
Someone else: "So you're saying you hate [insert random people group here]"

🤦‍♂️

In a similar vein, I'm getting sick of this type of interaction:

A: *states opinion*
B: *states disagreement with the above opinion*
A: So I'm not allowed to have an opinion?!

The same kind of juvenile thinking that automatically links disagreement with hatred also links disagreement with some kind of restriction or violation of free speech.

 

[adrianlondon]

Yeah, everything's overdramatized

Don't have a meltdown!

 

[B S Magnet]

Don't have a meltdown!

The only meltdown will be in the bowl of ice cream I’ll be enjoying (loving?). 🍨

EDIT to add: Ice cream is so fetch. Go fetch yourself come ice cream tonight.

 

[usagora]

"I can't even" meaning "I'm experiencing so many emotional reactions to this that I don't even know how to express it."

e.g. "I can't even with that man letting his aggressive dog out in the park without a leash."

 

[B S Magnet]

Ah. Some gems of annoyances, courtesy of the withering art of rhetorical and expository speaking, usually traipsing along the line of being trite:

“Make no mistake…” No dumpling, what you mean to say is, “Please don’t misunderstand me,” or even, “Don’t get me wrong.” Just be honest. Making mistakes is part of how we learn as living creatures. No shame in that.

“…it’s a slippery slope.” Aw dear who will not eat your green eggs and ham, you might sincerely enjoy a slide down that hill. Why not try it on a toboggan, just after a big dump of new-fallen snow. It’s delightful and the climb up the slippery slope is well worth it in the end. Stop threatening on the possibility of a slide (into where? hopefully the base of that hill) and just slide already. I think you’ll truly enjoy it and your cares will… slide away.

“Mark my words…” It would do me the honour. Let me borrow your red sharpie pen so I can make heavy copy editing work of your very exciting speech.

 

[LedRush]

Whenever people use fake terms of endearment or nicknames to dismiss the arguments that people make. Usually the people who employ this tactic are incapable of addressing arguments on logical, intellectual, or any substantive grounds, and couch their ignorance and hate in an avalanche of douchtastic phrases of self-puffery.

 

[B S Magnet]

Whenever people use fake terms of endearment or nicknames to dismiss the arguments that people make. Usually the people who employ this tactic are incapable of addressing arguments on logical, intellectual, or any substantive grounds, and couch their ignorance and hate in an avalanche of douchtastic phrases of self-puffery.

Given the scope of this discussion thread — i.e., “words or phrases…” — have you any specific, applied examples of note with which others might have some familiarity? Cheers.

 

[Chuckeee]

Given the scope of this discussion thread — i.e., “words or phrases…” — have you any specific, applied examples of note with which others might have some familiarity? Cheers.

“Yes, sweetie” ?

 

[B S Magnet]

“Yes, sweetie” ?

Someone’s sleeping on the sofa tonight…

 

[Chuckeee]

Someone’s sleeping on the sofa tonight…

Q.E.D.

 

[B S Magnet]

Q.E.D.

All the best. Hopefully your tomorrow will be better.

 

[usagora]

Whenever people use fake terms of endearment or nicknames to dismiss the arguments that people make. Usually the people who employ this tactic are incapable of addressing arguments on logical, intellectual, or any substantive grounds, and couch their ignorance and hate in an avalanche of douchtastic phrases of self-puffery.

Yep. One of the most common ones is "my friend" used in an obviously patronizing manner. "You're simply wrong on this, my friend." etc. When I've mentioned this before (not here), some people actually tried to defend it, questioning how did I know for sure that they weren't being sincere 🤦🏼‍♂️ Context, folks! Sure, if you answer someone's question and they respond with, "Thanks, my friend!" it's obviously sincere. But in the context of a heated debate, it's always going to come across as condescending, even in the off chance that someone is being sincere.

 

[glant20]

We'll call you back later

 

[avz]

Yep. One of the most common ones is "my friend" used in an obviously patronizing manner. "You're simply wrong on this, my friend." etc. When I've mentioned this before (not here), some people actually tried to defend it, questioning how did I know for sure that they weren't being sincere 🤦🏼‍♂️ Context, folks! Sure, if you answer someone's question and they respond with, "Thanks, my friend!" it's obviously sincere. But in the context of a heated debate, it's always going to come across as condescending, even in the off chance that someone is being sincere.

"My friend" with a pat on a back definitely comes across very patronizing in any context. "My enemy" on the other hand can be seen as a "compliment" in disguise because in order to be considered "an enemy" you'll have to be on a certain "level". Some people may even try to belittle others by saying: "My friend in order to complain about haters you must have significantly more than five followers."

 

[VisceralRealist]

I really only encounter "my friend" from Lyft drivers or someone like that. It seems to be inherently impersonal. "My dude" and "my guy" are always condescending; that's essentially the function of those phrases.

I'm reminded of the Canadians on South Park who go endlessly back and forth with "I'm not your buddy, guy. I'm not your guy, friend. I'm not your friend, buddy."

Although I do give an exception to "buddy" because my parents have called me "buddy/bud" since I was a toddler. But it only works in that specific context.

 

[rm5]

We'll call you back later

1. We actually won't call you back later
2. We're really not interested in you.

 

[rm5]

I really only encounter "my friend" from Lyft drivers or someone like that. It seems to be inherently impersonal. "My dude" and "my guy" are always condescending; that's essentially the function of those phrases.

Personally, I've seen "my dude" and "my guy" be uplifting rather than condescending, but it depends on the context and the situation.

 

[SalisburySam]

Whenever people use fake terms of endearment or nicknames to dismiss the arguments that people make. Usually the people who employ this tactic are incapable of addressing arguments on logical, intellectual, or any substantive grounds, and couch their ignorance and hate in an avalanche of douchtastic phrases of self-puffery.

Thanks for my morning chuckle. Rarely does one see “douchtastic” and “puffery” in the same sentence, well, just anywhere. And shouldn’t the first be spelled douchetastic with the “e?” Regardless, l ❤️ the verbiage.

 

[B S Magnet]

Elephant-in-the-room words I detest:

1) Most of the slang which cishet men use to describe breasts. “Breasts”, “boobs”, “chest”, and even “mammaries” are fine, thanks.

2) I also detest virtually all slang they use to describe our nether bits, as well.

Slang relating to our bums (e.g., “booty”) and legs (e.g., “gams”) tend to be less irksome, at least most of the time.

[I single out a subset of men here (in a forum I recognize is, generally, over-represented by men of all kinds) and not boys, because men are no longer 14 years old and they have no excuse for themselves. “I decline to behave like a grown-up adult around this stuff specifically” will never cut it.]

 

[Clix Pix]

The other day I was reading a novel in which at one point somewhere during the late 1950s or early 1960s an (of course fictional) airline copilot seated in the plane's cabin as they were setting up and going through preflight checkpoints on their list prior to passenger boarding called out "Skirts!" to summon one or more of the stewardesses..... [Whoa!!!!].

Reading this in 2023 this particular bit certainly caught my attention. I wondered even as I read this whether or not indeed at that time pilots did refer to and address the female flight attendants simply as "skirts". Thank goodness times have changed and at least some language has become more appropriate when addressing others in the workplace!